In a Hundredth of a Second
by Chezabear
Summary: It's been three months since Brooke has been home to Ipswich and four years since she's truly dealt with any of the people in it. Upon securing a new job with a friend, she is re-introduced to the reason that she dreaded coming back home in the first place: the Sons of Ipswich. Can she learn to deal with her past in time to protect her future?
1. The Past Reflected

Author's Notes: I do not own the rights to _The Covenant_ movie or its characters, original plot, or places. All additional content is either origianl or pulled from the Ipswich, MA website.

Full description: It's been three months since Brooke has been home to Ipswich and four years since she's truly dealt with any of the people in it. Upon securing a new job with a friend, she is re-introduced to the reason that she dreaded coming back home in the first place: the Sons of Ipswich. Past relationships muddle with new ones as Brooke tries desperately to repair old friendships and sustain new ones. But what happens when her new life comes crashing into the old one in a way that no one thought was possible? Feelings fade back in again as someone that wasn't supposed to be alive re-enters the playing field with a suspicious case of amnesia and a connection to Brooke that no one can understand, let alone break.

* * *

It wasn't an atypical Tuesday in Ipswich: the afternoon sun was out, warming the air to a comfortable 75 degrees with a light breeze to tussle some leaves on the ground every now and again. The streets weren't busy with people like they were on weekends since most of the population were middle-aged white folks with full-time day jobs. This is what made it the perfect day for a homecoming.

Still, Brooke was slouched down in her father's Mercedes as he drove down Central Street towards their neighborhood. Her eyes scanned the streets, imagining that everyone on the sidewalk they passed was whispering something about her. It had been four years since she had been home for good, and in a town of just over 4,000 people word got around fast.

"You okay back there, Brooke?" her father asked as he pulled up to a stoplight.

Brooke didn't need to see her father's face to know that he was concerned; she could hear it in his voice. She shot him a glance, though, and saw that he was actually smiling at her. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"I'm fine, Dad," she responded, offering up a smile of her own.

Her father nodded and looked back to the red light just in time for it to turn green. He accelerated gently through the intersection and continued up just three more streets as Central turned into Main before he turned off into their neighborhood.

Brooke sat up then, noting how the houses hadn't really changed since she had been home last. In truth, it hadn't been but three months since she had been back in Ipswich. This time, though, she was expected to stay. The staff at Morten House had made it very clear that they didn't want to see her step through their doors as a patient in the near future.

The roads leading up to the Garcia home all looked the same as they did three months ago. Then again, not much ever really changed in the old-money neighborhoods of Massachusetts; especially when gated all of the homes were gated and had huge, sprawling lots that needed a large staff to tend to.

"Are Mom and Jude home?" Brooke asked as her father directed the car through the opening gate to the property. There was still a good hundred yards of cobblestone driveway before they would even reach the roundabout that sat in the front of the house.

Raul—her father—nodded as he pulled up and around the hedges that were in the center of the roundabout. "They will be," he said, his words directly contradicting his action. "They knew I was picking you up today, but your sister had a meeting with her new agent and your mother's firm is working on a rather large case at the moment." He paused to shut the car off and look over at Brooke. She knew he could tell that she was one the fence with her emotions. Her relationships with her mother, Kathleen, and sister, Jude, had always been strange ones.

"Do you know when they'll be home?" Brooke asked as she exited the Mercedes.

Raul shrugged noncommittally. "I can't say for sure, Brookie," he said as he rounded the back of the car to grab some of the things in the trunk.

Brooke joined him, slinging her camera case across her shoulder and hefting one of the rolling suitcases out of the car before her father gently pushed the trunk closed. She watched her father climb the steps up to the front door and took in a deep, slow breath. The Garcia house had always been formidable to Brooke, but it seemed so much more monstrous at current. Her family had money, that was apparent by the sheer size of the property they lived on, but that wasn't what was so intimidating to the petite young woman. Despite her father's generally warm nature and ability to work from home, the house had always seemed so empty. True, there was consistently a staff there throughout the day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but they left right at five PM when Raul said their work day was over. And, if she was being honest, having people in the house didn't necessarily mean that it wasn't lonely.

Shaking off her mix of emotions, Brooke yanked up the handle to her suitcase and followed her father up the few stairs to the front door. She was met with a much more inviting and familiar sight than she had gotten used to. She found a smile creeping onto her face as she followed her father through the foyer to the large, circular staircase that led to the upper part of the house. Her smile grew as they walked further into the house and she began to smell the comforting scent of the cinnamon candles that her mother was so fond of.

The familiarity continued as they walked down the stretch of hallway to where Brooke and Jude's rooms were located. None of the pictures on the walls had changed—the pictures of an outwardly happy and perfect family smiled down at her as she followed her father to her room.

"Hopefully your mother and sister get home soon enough," Raul said as she pushed the door to his youngest daughter's room open with his shoulder.

"It's alright if they don't," Brooke responded, hoping that her father wouldn't hear the relief in her voice. "I actually have plans a little later tonight. One of my friends from high school was able to get me an interview down at Nicky's."

She watched her father stiffen at the mention of a high school friend. He eyed his daughter carefully as he set her things down and straightened up.

"Which friend?"

Brooke sighed and rolled her eyes at her father's concern. He always had been the more caring of the Garcia parents.

"Desi. I met her after you and Mom pulled me out of Spenser and put me at Ipswich High," she explained. "I guess Nicky did some remodeling last year and is trying to turn the place into a music venue. Desi told him I was a photographer and he might want to bring me on to do promotional stuff, too."

Her father relaxed visibly and nodded. High school for Brooke was a touchy subject with the Garcia family, despite her having graduated two years prior and the incident in question had happened two years before that. Four years was a long time to hold on to something for normal people, but Raul and Kathleen Garcia were far from normal.

"Sounds good, sweetheart. When were you going down there?" he asked, lingering in the doorway for a moment as he waited for his daughter to answer.

Brooke looked at the digital clock by her bedside; it read two-thirty. "I need to be there by four," she said, looking back to her father.

Raul nodded and looked towards the hallway, knocking on the doorframe as if to fill the silence. Brooke watched him carefully and shifted from foot to foot, waiting for him to either leave or speak.

"Well, it's good to have you home, Brooke. For good this time." Her father smiled at her one last time before he wandered off down the hallway.

Brooke let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding and collapsed onto her bed. It was much softer than the one she'd had at Morten House, so it as hard for her not to just close her eyes and fall into the nap she so desperately wanted to take.

Sitting up slowly, Brooke let her eyes wander around her room. It seemed like the only person who had been in there since she'd gone back to Morten House was the cleaning lady since there was no evidence of the last scene she had caused in her home. The glass had been cleaned up out of the carpet and her posters had been neatly tacked back onto the wall from where they had fallen. The broken mirror that had been the source of the glass had been replaced and the blood…was still there?

Brooke squinted at the spot on the carpet where her blood had been dripping onto. Was she hallucinating or had her parents really just left the stain there? She knelt down to examine the spot beside her bed, finally realizing that she had definitely been seeing things. The carpet had either been replaced entirely, or her parents hired a damn good cleaning service to make her room look spotless.

Straightening back up, Brooke sighed and ran both of her hands through her bleached blonde hair. She tangled her fingers there and closed her eyes, actively telling herself to calm down. Things were going to be different this time. She was home for good. She even had a job interview in less than two hours to help drive the point home.

* * *

Brooke pulled into the parking lot outside Nicky's just a few minutes before four. She scanned the parking lot before she dared to get out of her father's Mercedes that she had borrowed. After a few seconds, her eyes landed on what she hoped was Desi's car just a few spaces down. The back window of the Land Rover was plastered in New England Patriots stickers and she could see the crystals hanging from the rearview mirror. The sight of her friend's car put her at ease.

The gravel crunched beneath Brooke's boot as she stepped from the car and looked towards the bar. It was still early enough for the late-night crowd to be absent, but late enough for the more casual patrons to be on their way out or close to it. She was glad for it, too; the last thing she needed was a crowd of people around her.

Brooke slung her camera bag over her shoulder and headed towards the building, making sure to notice everything about the sound her boots made on the ground and the way the air felt on her skin to keep her from turning tail and running. She didn't not want to be there, but she had always had a hard time with new experiences and new people. Luckily for her, Desi was a good friend and Nicky was a familiar face. She couldn't even remember the amount of times she and Tyler had been to the spot with his friends.

Tyler.

The thought of the boy made Brooke stop dead in her tracks. She hadn't thought about him in weeks. At least not without consistent coaxing from one of the therapists. Her schoolgirl feelings had faded for the boy, but that didn't mean Brooke still didn't care about him to an extent. Especially considering what happened back then and the way she had left…

Brooke shook her head and planted her feet in the earth as if to draw power from it. That was four years ago and he had moved on. He'd probably even moved out of the dead-end town that was Ipswich.

With her wits wrapped firmly about her again, Brooke continued into the bar. She pushed the door open and poked her head in, smiling when she saw just how different it looked. The bar was still located in the center of the space, but Nicky had built a stage and small sound booth at the far wall with a rather large dance floor between it and the bar. The front space still held the old jukebox, foosball and pool tables, and a few tall bar tables, but everything else has been updated. The place still held its dive bar atmosphere, but everything much more high tech than the last time Brooke had been there.

"Oh my God, Brooke!"

The sound of a voice pulled Brooke's attention to the bar. She grinned broadly when she saw Desi bounding towards her, the girl's long brunette ponytail swishing behind her. Brooke laughed as Desi pulled her into a tight hug. She returned the hug with slightly less gusto; not like Desi would notice though.

"I'm so glad you showed up! Nicky's been trying to find someone to fill this position for weeks," Desi said as she released Brooke and took her head. "I knew you'd just gotten back into town today, so I wasn't sure you would even be here. I'm so glad you are!"

Brooke smiled as she let Desi lead her towards the bar where Nicky stood cleaning a glass. Desi had always been a talkative girl, but she was so kind-hearted and genuine that Brooke couldn't help but be drawn to her. They had kept in touch all throughout Brooke's various school switches and stays at the Morten House. Suffice to say, Desi was probably one of Brooke's best friends. One of.

"So you're some kind of photographer, eh?" Nicky asked. His voice was gruff and firm, but it held an underling kindness that Brooke didn't miss.

Nodding, Brooke reached for her camera bag and unzipped one of the side pockets where she kept a small, condensed copy of her portfolio. It was five or six five-by-seven prints of her favorite photos that she felt captured her voice as a photographer. Handing Nicky the book, Brooke said, "I'd like to say I specialize in music photography, but I can pretty much do anything else. I could even take pictures of the food if you wanted to update the menu or the website."

Nicky took the small book from her and flipped through it more quickly than Brooke would have liked. She frowned and glanced at Desi who was nothing but smiles. She seemed to be oblivious to Nicky having made up his mind about Brooke wasting his time. Brooke had seen Nicky's look on other people's faces and knew that he was about to tell her that he was sorry for wasting her time. She inhaled deeply and prepped herself for the inevitable rejection.

"You're hired. How old are you?"

Brooke's eyes went wide and she nearly choked on the breath she had let out. She coughed a few times and shook her head. "Sorry, I just…I wasn't expecting that. And I'm twenty. I'll be twenty-one in December. Why?"

Nicky nodded and handed her back the portfolio booklet. "We've been needing help behind the bar. Think you can bar back until you're old enough to become a bartender?"

The question was entirely out of left field, but Brooke wasn't about to turn down a chance at normalcy. She'd known the photographer job would be sparing in paychecks, so the option to make money every week was much more appealing.

Nodding, Brooke said, "Yeah, I can do that."

Nicky grunted and motioned to the back office. "Just let me go get the employment forms and you'll be all set, uh…Brooke, was it?"

Brooke nodded again in confirmation. Nicky gave her a nod back and headed for the office, leaving Desi and Brooke to grin at each other.

"I knew he was going to hire you," Desi said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "You did not," she said.

Desi giggled and made her way behind the bar to pour herself and Brooke glasses of water. "Did too!"

Brooke laughed and took the glass from her friend, indulging Desi as she held the glass up for a toast. She took a sip from the glass, turning towards the door just in time to see it open. The harsh light from the sun caused her to lift her hand to shade her eyes and block the faces of the four men that entered. Desi recognized them, though, and let out a squeal of excitement.

"The boys are back in town!" she called excitedly.

Brooke laughed and turned back to the bar to set her water down. She blinked several times, watching the spots in her vision slowly dissipate with each pass of her eyelids. When she was able to see again, Brooke turned to see who had come in that had gotten Desi so excited that she had come out from behind the bar.

Brooke's jaw dropped when she saw the men standing in front of her.

"I didn't know you would all be back in so soon," Desi said, catching her friend's attention. She still seemed to entirely miss the recognition that flashed through Brooke's eyes as she beheld the group that Desi was so excited about.

"Brooke," her friend chimed as she slid over to grab Brooke and wheel her towards the four men. "I'd like you to meet four of my favorite people: Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Reid Garwin, and—"

"Tyler Simms," Brooke said, cutting her friend off.


	2. Nostalgia

If recognition had a sound, Brooke was sure it was the sound of shattering glass under the force of someone's fist. That was all she could hear as she looked at the group of four boys that she used to be so close to. Except they weren't boys anymore; they were young men.

True, the Sons of Ipswich (a nickname that Brooke had always thought was the stupidest thing on the planet) all looked the same but somehow…different. None of them were taller or had changed drastically, but all traces of childhood were gone from their faces. The last remnants of innocence seemed to have been wiped away from all of them.

Brooke felt herself blink a few times as she looked from face to face, trying to find a trace of the boys she had once been so very close to. She saw it piecemeal in all of them: the flicker of friendliness in Caleb's stern face as a smile grew there; the way that Reid always had a ghost of a grin on his lips that eventually turned into one; Pogue's quiet intensity as he regarded her with familiarity; and Tyler's kind eyes that hardened the moment he fully realized what was going on.

A smile began to sprout on Brooke's own face as she watched the Sons slowly put all the pieces together. It had been four long years since Brooke had seen any of them—save for on the street when she was driving with her family—and she honestly had never thought she would see them again. Not after the way she left and her parents' general aversion to all things related to Spenser Academy.

"So…does anyone want to explain what's going on?"

The sudden sound of Desi's voice startled Brooke, but simultaneously brought her back down to Earth. Her eyes went directly to her friend, who was standing roughly halfway between her and the group of four that had just entered the bar. The poor girl looked so confused as she let her eyes dart between the five other people and tried to make sense of what was going on.

"I, uh, used to go to school with them," Brooke said at length.

The explanation was a poor one, for sure, but it was all the girl was prepared to deal out. She didn't exactly want to go into great detail about just how well she knew the Sons of Ipswich. There was a very slim chance that her mental state could handle the store as it was barely hanging on by a thread at the very presence of the four young men.

Luckily, Desi didn't seem to be too concern with the small details and latched onto the least important of them all. "You went to Spenser?" she asked incredulously. "I knew your family had money but damn girl, that's fucking _money_."

Brooke heaved a sigh, feeling a familiar heat begin to crawl up her neck. She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably and nodded. "Yeah. I, uh, transferred to Ipswich High in the middle of junior year when I met you. I started at Spenser in middle school and that's when I met them."

The boys had all been quiet through the exchange, seemingly taking the temperature of the situation before they decided to pipe up. As usual, Caleb was the first to say anything.

The dark-haired young man stepped forward, crossing the small space between his group and Brooke in just a few strides, and smiled broadly. "It's really great to see you again, Brooke," he said; she could hear the genuine relief in his voice.

Caleb took another step forward and held out his arms slowly, silently asking for permission for reconciliation. Brooke couldn't help but take a step back, her eyes darting to the other three boys. The situation was so odd to her; she never imagined that she'd see her old friends again. Back in high school, the four sons of Ipswich's oldest families had all had such high aspirations for themselves and the sheer fact of them still being in the tiny town was enough to throw Brooke for a loop. She had considered the possibility of seeing them again, but the encounters in her imagination never got much beyond a polite smile and nod before they all moved on. They were friends with Desi, though, which meant that she would be seeing a lot of them over what she now knew to be summer break.

"You okay, Brooke?"

The next voice didn't belong to Caleb. It was deeper and more gravelly.

Brooke's eyes re-focused on the current situation. She hadn't realized that she had taken more than just one step back and was now clutching her camera bag like it was the only thing tethering her to the ground. Pogue had stepped up next to Caleb, who now had his hands at his sides and a rather concerned look on his face.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Desi added, taking a step towards her friend and reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Brooke swallowed and released the vice grip she had on her bag, letting out a long breath of air and pent-up emotions at the same time.

"S-sorry," she stammered. "I just…it's been so long since I've seen you guys, so I honestly didn't think you would remember me." It wasn't necessarily a lie. She had guessed they would remember her, but for them to be excited to see her was an entirely different story.

"How could we not remember you?" Reid piped, his voice still low and mischievous like it had been in high school. "You're kinda hard to forget, Muppet."

Brooke's face broke into a broad smile at the mention of the nickname. She didn't know where Reid had come up with it, but it had stuck. She thought it had something to do with her constantly dying her hair back in middle and high school. It was at one point, as Reid had once put it, "Cookie Monster" blue; she was sure that was where the pet name had come from.

"Yeah, I was a little crazy back then with the Manic Panic," she admitted, shifting her camera bag back across her shoulder.

The sound of a door opening caught the group's attention. Nicky emerged from his office, holding a stack of papers and a pen. He nodded to the Sons as he walked over to Brooke and handed her the paperwork.

"Feel free to post up at one of the tables and fill this out. That way I can get it all put into the system and you can start sooner," Nicky said. He looked back to the boys and smiled. "Technically, bar's not open yet, fellas. But I think I can make an exception."

Desi chimed in then: "I can get them taken care of, Nicky. Register's already been counted from Matt last shift. Can you just tap a new keg of Ipswich Ale?"

Nicky grunted in agreement and waved a quick farewell to the patrons and his new employee before disappearing into the back again.

Brooke looked down at the paperwork in her head, a smile once again creeping onto her face. Taking just a few steps to her left, she set her camera bag down on the bar and slid onto one of the stools so she could begin to fill everything out. She could see the Sons fall into stools near her, but she kept her eyes on the paperwork.

"You get a job here or something?" Reid asked, having taken one of the seats directly next to Brook and peering over her shoulder.

Brooke glanced up at him and nodded, taking her hand away from the paperwork to briefly pat her camera bag. "I'm gonna be photographing the events Nicky's been hosting. Maybe some other stuff, too."

"She's also gonna be the absolute best bar back there ever was," Desi chimed in from behind the bar. She set a pint down in front of Reid as well as Pogue, who had chosen the seat on the opposite side of Brooke. "I'm gonna train her to be a bartender so we can have someone else, too, once she turns twenty-one."

"I forgot you were younger than us, Muppet," Reid responded, taking a sip of the beer Desi had provided him.

"He's right, you know. You always seemed so much older when we were all hanging out," Pogue added.

Brooke looked between the two boys with a rather incredulous expression on her face. "Are you kidding me? I was a fucking immature mess in high school. Just ask Desi how much shit I stirred up at Ipswich High when she and I met."

Desi let out a hearty laugh at the statement, nearly dropping Tyler and Caleb's beers on the bar instead of placing them down. Caleb joined her in a laugh—Brooke couldn't tell if was from Desi's actions or her own words—but Tyler seemed a little more annoyed than anything else. He snatched the glass and pulled it towards himself in an irritated fashion that was foreign to Brooke. When had he become such a sourpuss?

"I remember you starting shit at Spenser, too, Brooke," he said at length.

Brooke froze, looking up at the boys with only her eyes and keeping her burning face turned down towards her employment paperwork. She was glad that they were the only people in the bar aside from Nicky, but not at the same time. Had it been more crowded with more voices, Tyler's snide comment may have gone unnoticed.

"I-I mean…yeah. I guess I did," Brooke finally manager to say.

Caleb laughed then, taking some of the tension out of the situation. "You guess?" he said, the humor still in his voice. "I can distinctly remember your extremely fuckin' weird feud with Kira Snyder."

Brooke rolled her eyes and sat up straight rather dramatically. The boys—all but Tyler, at least—laughed at the indignant look on her face. She was sure she looked like a child who had been reprimanded for something silly, like not picking up their toys or trying to sneak an extra cookie out of the pantry.

"Oh, come on!" she said, her voice rising an octave higher than its usual mid-alto tone. "She was a bitch and had it out for me! What was I supposed to do? Just lay down and take it? No, thank you sir."

That drew a laugh out of everyone including Tyler. Brooke couldn't help but smile at him, the sound of his genuine laugh. She didn't realize just how much she had missed not only his laugh, but the other boys' laughs as well. It had been a long time coming, but she finally felt a little closer to being a whole person once again.

"Do you remember that one time Kira tried to push you in the pool at one of the swim meets?" Tyler asked, his voice finally softening up after his earlier abrasiveness.

"Oh my God, _of course_ I do," Brooke said as she looked towards Desi. Her best friend smiled at her, showing that she didn't feel left out of the little moment of catch-up.

"Well, what the fuck happened?" Desi asked, sidling out of the way as Nicky reappeared to place the keg she had asked for.

Brooke heard Nicky chuckle—he knew the story since the Sons and Brooke spent every free minute at the bar in high school—as she sighed heavily and put her pen down. The story wasn't so much embarrassing for Kira as it was for her; she'd been a bit of a shithead in high school.

"Well," Brooke began as she turned in her barstool to face a very eager-looking Desi, "there was this girl named Kira that always got on my nerves at Spenser. She was the bitchy popular type." She paused to take a drink of her water. "Kinda like that girl Cheyenne that went to Ipswich High and always gave you shit for your dad being a teacher."

Desi rolled her eyes at the thought of the old high school bully. "Oh man, so this girl must have really sucked," she said, glancing up momentarily as a few more patrons entered the bar.

Brooke waited until Desi had greeted the two older men, gotten them their drinks, and rejoined them. It seemed that Ipswich hadn't really changed all that much. Then again, there would always been fifty-something-year-old men in bars at four in the afternoon no matter where she was.

Brooke continued her story: "So, anyway, Kira was dating this guy Aaron—also a complete fuckass—who was on the swim team with the boys. We were at one of the meets that Spenser was holding and I was photographing the event for the school's website since the photos hadn't been updated since, like, the mid-nineties." She paused to watch Desi's face, waiting to see if her friend could see where this was going.

"Keep in mind Muppet's _literally_ on the edge of the pool trying to get the shots of us as we're competing," Reid added, taking another long swig of his beer.

Brooke nodded and stifled a laugh. "Yeah, so, I'm crouched down on the edge of the pool trying to get this shot of Tyler and Kira comes walking up behind me with a bug up her ass and decides to try to push me in the pool." She paused again, seeing Desi's eyes nearly bulge out of her head.

"Oh my God _what a bitch_!" Desi said incredulously, slamming her palm down the bar with a _whack_ and straightening up as if she was about to go find Kira and give her what-for.

Brooke smiled at her friend. "Yeah, she was terrible," she said. "But, she nudges me really hard with her leg and, since I'm crouched at this super fuckin' weird angle, I lost my balance. I ended up dropping my camera since the strap was wrapped around my wrist and not my neck—I still have no fuckin' clue how it didn't break—and grab onto her leg so I can drag her in with me."

The group all erupted into laughter, most of all Tyler. Brooke found the sound of his laugh refreshing since he had been giving her the cold shoulder more or less since they showed up.

"The look on your face was pretty hilarious, but the look on Kira's was priceless," Tyler said between guffaws. "You looked, like, so determined to take her down with you and she"—the laughing fit took over once more before Tyler was able to get the rest of his sentence out: "She looked so shocked that you could even move that quick. And when you two came out of the water and she tried to go after you and fell in _again_—shit, I thought I was going to die of laughter."

Brooke's laugh grew as Tyler spoke. She'd almost forgotten that Kira had tried to attack her after they were both pulled out by their respective boyfriends. She still couldn't quite place how Kira had slipped in again since both Aaron and Tyler had pulled the girls far enough from the edge to avoid another slip in.

"I thought Aaron was about to have an aneurism," Pogue chirped up, wiping his eyes from the laughter tears that had formed there. "He was on one for weeks after that, wasn't he Baby Boy?"

Tyler nodded, still laughing. "He was convinced I had something to do with Kira falling in to start off with since I had finished my lap right when they fell in."

Desi took in a few deep breaths to calm her fit of laughter. "These people sound like they are the actual worst people on the planet."

Brooke shrugged and downed the rest of her water. "I mean, they were in high school. I can only hope they turned out to be better people after graduation."

Reid shook his head from beside Brooke and she cocked her head to the side. "He was still a cock after you, ah, left, too," he said.

His small pause before 'left' was just enough to bring the mood of the room back down. Brooke sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and looked back down towards her half-completed paperwork. She picked up her pen again and flicked her eyes between the five people surrounding her. Desi didn't seem to notice—why would she? She'd had no part in Brooke's life before Ipswich High—but Caleb and Pogue looked like they wanted to throttle Reid while Tyler just looked so…sad.

"Ah, shit, Muppet I'm sorry," Reid finally said, wrapping one of his arms around Brooke's shoulders. The sudden show of affection, while not out of character, startled her and she squeaked. Aside from Caleb's earlier attempt at a hug, this was the first real contact she'd had with her former life and it felt oddly foreign. She never would have imagined Reid to be the first one to make contact.

"We're just glad that you're back," Pogue added from her other side. He smiled and placed a comforting hand on Brooke's arm. "Doesn't matter why you left Spenser now. That was forever ago. All that matters now is that you're back."

Brooke swallowed, willing the tears that were stinging her eyes to stay inside her head. She wasn't about to break down in the bar just because two old friends said nice things to her. She sniffed and shook her head, giving Pogue and Reid smiles.

"Thanks, guys," she said quietly. "And…I'm sorry I didn't reach out after I left. There was just…a lot going on and my parents thought it was better to pull me from Spenser and cut ties with pretty much everyone."

Caleb smiled sadly at her from his seat around the corner of the bar next to Tyler. "Don't cry, Brooke. You don't owe anyone an explanation. It's truly good to have you back. We have a lot of catching up to do."

As if on cue, the door to the bar opened again, drawing the group's attention once more. A drop-dead gorgeous blonde walked through the threshold, her eyes going right to Caleb and the Sons. Her smile was bright and friendly as she walked over and planted a peck on Caleb's lips before turning to the rest of the group.

"Hey, babe," Caleb said as he stood up and offered the young woman his seat. He motioned to Brooke, drawing the blonde's attention to the other girl. "This is Brooke. She's a friend from Spenser that just came back into town."

Caleb's girlfriend smiled brightly. "It's nice to meet you, Brooke. I'm Sarah," she said. "You went to Spenser? I don't think I remember meeting you…"

Brooke shook her head. "I, uh, transferred out in the middle of my junior year."

Sarah nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. I must transferred in after you transferred out." She paused to look to Desi and smile again. "Hey, girlfriend. Can I get a martini?"

Desi nodded. "You got it, Sare-bear," she said as she set to making the drink.

Brook bit her lip again, looking between Sarah and the rest of the group. There was getting to be just a few too many people there for her liking. In an attempt to keep her growing anxiety in check, she set to finishing the paperwork Nicky had given her. She hadn't been too far from being done before the Kira story had been brought up.

Brooke could hear Desi and the others talking as she continued to write; she was hyper-aware of Pogue sitting beside her, too. Reid had vacated his seat not too long after Sarah had arrived to secure a pool table with Tyler; some things in Ipswich would never change.

Seeming to notice her discomfort, Pogue leaned over and said, "You doing alright, Brooke? You've been awfully quiet."

Brooke looked up from scanning the employment papers for errors and nodded absently. "Yeah, I'm just trying to make sure I didn't miss anything on here." The explanation wasn't exactly the truth, but it was no lie either.

Pogue nodded slowly and glanced towards the pool table where Tyler and Reid were setting up a game. Brooke followed his gaze, her eyes immediately landing on Tyler. He looked away as soon as she made eye contact with him, causing her heart to sink even lower into her stomach.

"You should go talk to him," Pogue said gently.

Brooke looked over to him, straightening up in her seat and collecting all of the papers before her. "I…I really don't think that's a very good idea," she said.

Pogue sighed and turned fully to look at her. His hazel eyes had always been intense, but they seemed much more as now as he looked at her with sadness in his face.

"I can't make you, but I really think you should. I…I know it was a long time ago, but you leaving and saying good-bye had him fucked up for a good few months, Brooke." Pogue paused, pushing his hair from his face and trying to find Brooke's eyes. "I don't know what happened with you, Brooke. And please don't feel like you have to tell me, but it must have been pretty heavy for you just to walk away from that relationship. He was ass over fuckin' tea kettle for you."

Brooke looked down at her hands, avoiding Pogue's gaze at all costs. "I know," she whispered. "And I'm sorry. I just…I can't talk to him; not about that. At least not yet." She looked up, watching Caleb and Sarah as they joined Tyler and Reid at the pool table.

Pogue nodded and patted Brooke's knee gently. "Caleb said you don't owe anyone an explanation and he's absolutely right, but maybe consider at least apologizing to him."

Nodding, Brooke gathered up her things and nodded towards the office. "I should really get going. I haven't seen my mom or Jude since I've been home and I…" she trailed off, feeling the pressure behind her eyes once more.

Pogue simply stood and pulled Brooke into a tight, comforting hug. "I get it," he said quietly. "I'll tell everyone you said bye, but at least let me get your number before you head home. Reid and I are trying to have everyone over at our apartment in the next few days and I think you should be there."

Brooke breathed in deeply as she pulled away from Pogue. She held out her hand for Pogue's phone. When he placed it in her hand, she entered the phone number she never thought she would give to one of the Sons of Ipswich. After all the time in and out of Morten House, her parents had changed Brooke's phone number at least three times to keep her out of contact with certain people, the Sons being at least four of them.

"I sent myself a text so I'll have yours," Brooke said as she handed Pogue his phone back. "Just…please don't give it to the other guys. At least not yet, okay?"

Pogue raised an eyebrow quizzically, but he nodded in agreement. "Of course. You let me know when you're ready."

Brooke nodded and looked over her shoulder to see where Nicky was. She caught his attention and he came over, taking the papers from her and nodding as he shuffled through them to ensure completion.

"First event's tomorrow night," Nicky said. "Think you can bring me a copy of your driver's license and social security card?" Brooke nodded in agreement. Nicky smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. "Thanks, kid. Welcome to the Nicky's team," he said before he turned and headed off to his office to file her paperwork before the rush started.

Pogue's voice sounded from behind Brooke once again: "Let me know if you need anything, yeah?"

Brooke looked up, smiling gently at Pogue's kind expression. "Thank you," she murmured.

Pogue smiled and nodded to the pool table. "I'm gonna head over before I'm missed. Text me when you get home so we all know you're safe?"

Brooked smiled and nodded. She caught Desi's attention as Pogue headed for the group at the pool table and motioned to the door. "I'm gonna head home. I'm kind of exhausted from everything today."

Desi nodded and reached her arms over the bar to give Brooke a very awkward hug. "Let me know when you get home, okay love? I'll see you tomorrow night for the band."

"Yup. I'll be here early so I can get some shots of them setting up, too," Brooke said.

Desi smiled and squeezed her friend's hand. "Get some rest, Brooke. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, Brooke turned and headed towards the door. She lingered in the doorway, casting one last glance over her shoulder to the Sons of Ipswich. All of them seemed enthralled in some story that Reid was telling, but Pogue turned as soon as her eyes landed on him. He gave her a small smile and wave, which she returned robotically before darting out the door and to her father's car. If she was lucky, she'd make it home before her mother and sister so she wouldn't have to deal with their draining personalities. After the reunion she'd just had, Brooke wasn't sure she could handle many more emotions. Her social battery was almost dead.


	3. Into the Wolf's Den

"So, you gonna tell me why yesterday was so fucking awkward when the boys first showed up?" Desi asked, her steps allowing her to follow Brooke around Nicky's as the photographer tried to find the best place to take photos from.

Brooked rolled her eyes and glanced at her friend. "Don't you have, like, dishes to be washing or something?" she asked.

Desi scoffed and looked to the bar, motioning to the older man that was there. "That's Matt's job tonight." She shuffled in front of her friend and fixed Brooke with a hard stare. "Are you gonna spill or do I have to keep annoying the shit out of you until you finally crack?"

"Desi, please, can we just drop it?" Brooke asked, performing a spin move to get around her friend.

Desi groaned and threw her hands up in the air. "No! No we cannot drop it," she said. "I need to know why Tyler looked like a lost puppy all night and why you were texting _Pogue_ and not me when you got home."

Brooke paused, pulling the viewfinder on her Sony camera away from her face. She had completely forgotten to text Desi when she'd arrived at home and instead initiated conversation with Pogue. Why had she done that?

"Okay, fine," she conceded, turning to face her friend. Desi had her arms crossed over her chest and her weigh shifted onto one left in a rather defiant stance. "But you need to promise not to freak out."

Desi nodded sternly, motioning for Brooke to continue. Brooke sighed heavily, mustering up all the courage she had. She really hadn't wanted to revisit her high school relationship, but Desi wasn't about to leave it alone.

"So, I've known the boys for years; since middle school basically." Brooke paused to shift her weight between her feet uncomfortably. "Well, at the end of my sophomore year, the boys' junior year, Tyler asked me out. We dated into the next year until I…transferred."

Desi gave her a rather incredulous look, narrowing her eyes and pressing her lips into a hard line. "That's it? You dated Tyler? Wow, that's lame."

Brooke rolled her eyes and groaned. "Well, that's not exactly it. I didn't exactly break up with him. I just kinda dipped out." She paused, watching the understanding flood into Desi's face. "When I left over winter break the year after you graduated, that wasn't the first time I had been to the Morten House."

Desi's expression immediately softened and she dropped her arms to her sides. "Shit. I'm sorry, Brooke. I didn't know. You didn't…you didn't have to tell me. I shouldn't have bugged you. Fuck! I'm such a dick."

Brooke shook her head and took Desi's shoulders, leveling her gaze with her friend's. "Don't do that," she said. "It's just something I don't really like revisiting, you know? And had I known you were friends with all of them, I would have told you sooner. Yesterday just surprised me, is all."

Desi nodded, accepting the explanation at face value, but her expression changed to one of more curiosity suddenly. "But you still didn't tell me why you texted Pogue and not me."

Brooke sighed for what she felt like was the millionth time that night. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I should have texted you, too. Since Pogue and Caleb were the oldest, they were always like big brothers to me. Older siblings that actually give a shit," she said, rolling her eyes at the thought of Jude, her model older sister.

Desi reached out and placed her hand on Brooke's shoulder in a comforting manner. Brooke smiled as her friend gave her shoulder a small squeeze and reached up to pat Desi's hand.

"Well, you know you always have me, too, Brooke," Desi said.

Brooke nodded and looked towards the bar where Matt was finishing up his dish-washing duties. Nicky's was already open, but the band they were having perform wasn't playing until later that night when there would be a bigger crowd. Brooke had wanted to show up early, though, so she could find where the best angles for the stage were. She needed to have her spots pre-selected before the band got there so she could have a path worked out. The last thing she wanted was to get tripped up on her first real day at work.

"You nervous?" Desi asked, breaking Brooke's train of thought.

The petite blonde shook her head, smiling at her friend. "I've been doing this for way too long to get nervous," she replied.

Desi nodded, grinning at Brooke. "That's right. You were attached to that camera in high school. I remember thinking that you could only see when you had that thing up to your face."

Brooke let out a small laugh, shaking her head as she remembered her younger self. "You weren't far off honestly," she said. "I didn't pay much attention to things I wasn't photographing."

The two friends shared a laugh as they walked back to the bar. Brooke took up space on one of the barstools while Desi flipped up the section of the bar that functioned as a pathway between the bar and the floor.

"Do you know anything about the band playing tonight?" Brooke asked, carefully setting her camera bag next to her at the bar. Nicky had told her she could leave it in the locker room, but paranoia was one of the girl's best friends so that was out of the question.

Desi shrugged as she reached beneath the bar to grab a pint glass. Pressing it against the rinser, she said, "Not really. I know they're an eighties metal cover band, so I can guess we'll hear a lot of Mötley Crüe, probably some Poison, and stuff like that." She walked over to the taps and held the glass up, pouring one of the Sam Adams beers on tap into it. "Nicky tries to hire bands that the customers would be down for, so no emo nights for us."

Brooke laughed at the joke and shook her head, watching as Desi poured another beer. "Who are those for?" she questioned. "There's literally no one besides me here without a beer."

Desi smiled and set the beers beside Brooke and nodded to the door. Brooke turned just in time to see Reid and Tyler walk through the door.

"Reid texted me to say they were on their way," Desi said through a smile.

"Evening, ladies," Reid said, sliding into the seat directly beside Brooke. He winked at Desi. "Thanks, gorgeous. Long day at work calls for beer." He smiled and took a long draught of the alcohol.

Brooke peered around Reid as Tyler sat down, grabbing the Sam Adams that Desi slid in his direction. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Reid said from beside her. "We live here."

Brooke scoffed and rolled her eyes at the bad joke. "Good to see you two haven't moved on since high school," she shot back.

That drew a chuckle from Tyler. He shook his head, as if that would help shake off the laughter, and said, "We're here to check out the band. They haven't played here yet, so we wanted to scope it out before Caleb and Pogue got here."

Brooke nodded and looked towards the back entrance that had just opened. It seemed the band was just showing up to load in. The men that walked in seemed to be in their later 20s and all looked like they could have stepped out of a Slayer or Anthrax music video.

"Looks like you guys made it just in time for the sound check," Desi said as she reappeared from serving a few other patrons. "That'll be a good way to tell if they're garbage or not."

Brooke nodded in agreement as she turned her attention back to the people she was with. "Desi's right," she said. "What were you guys gonna do if they did suck, though?"

Reid laughed again and downed the rest of his beer. "Drink until they sounded better, probably," he joked as he gave Brooke a toothy grin and slid his glass in Desi's direction.

Desi scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Can I get you something, Garwin?" she asked rather venomously.

"¿Una cervesa más, mi amor?" he asked.

Desi rolled her eyes again, but took the glass with a swipe of her hand. "You're lucky you got a cute face," she snapped playfully.

Reid grinned in the lopsided way he always did and leaned back in his chair, draping one arm over the back so he could turn to engage with Broke and Reid.

"I'm assuming you're here to take pictures?"

Brooke nodded and patter her camera bag. "Yep. It's my first official job here." She paused and looked back to the stage as the band continued bring in their gear. "I wanted to get here early so I could get some behind the scenes shots and see if I could make some connections while I'm at it."

"Connections?" Tyler questioned from her other side.

Brooke nodded again. "Yeah. If I'm going to make it as a photographer at all, I have to start somewhere; especially since I mainly want to photograph bands."

Tyler nodded slowly, his eyes lifting to the band as its members bustled about. Brooke followed his eyes, wondering what it was that he was seeing that she wasn't.

"Something interesting over there, baby boy?" Reid asked, snapping his fingers above Brooke's head so he could get in Tyler's face.

"Huh? What? No," Tyler managed to stumble out. "There's just…something off about these guys, yannow?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow and looked back to Tyler. "What? They look like pretty normal dudes to me."

"Tyler gets these weird feelings about people," Desi chimed in from behind the bar. She set a glass down in front of Brooke and smiled.

"What's this?" Brooke asked, eying the pinky-orange colored drink cautiously.

"Mocktail," Desi said matter-of-factly. "If you're going to hang out in a bar, you should at least pretend like you're drinking. And, since I'm not about to get us shut down for serving underage patrons, you get an alcohol-free Paloma."

Brooke looked up at her friend questioningly as she reached forward for the small glass. "What's in it?" she asked at length.

Desi smirked and shook her head. "It's literally lime and grapefruit juice with agave syrup. Try it!"

Brooke brought the small black straw to her lips and took a small drink. The drink wasn't bad all; tart, but not too much so, and just sweet enough to balance out the tartness without taking away from it.

"Thanks," she said finally, taking another drink.

Desi grinned in satisfaction. She patted the bar in front of Brooke and winked as if to say 'I told you so' before she sashayed to the other end of the bar to check on her other patrons. As she appeared to be taking orders, Desi looked up towards the door as it swung open and a group of men entered.

There were five of them altogether; they all appeared to be in their late 30s and were dressed in leather vests and heavy boots. Brooke regarded them carefully, sipping her drink as Tyler and Reid talked to each other over her. It wasn't until they took their seats at a table near the stage that Brooke saw the insignia of a half-skeleton snarling wolf's head sewn onto the back of their vests. The name of their club was printed above the wolf patch: Canis Lupus.

"I don't remember Ipswich having a motorcycle gang," Brooke said quietly.

Tyler and Reid both ceased their conversation and peered over their shoulders to where the men sat. Desi was on her way over, not breaking her confident stride for anything.

"They're not from around here," Reid finally said.

Tyler piped up, then, adding, "Looks like they're here for the show."

His words were confirmed as one of the band members dropped what he was doing and walked over, clapping the oldest of the men on the shoulder. The men all erupted into shouts of 'hey man' and 'how's it going' as the three other members of the band walked over to join the group.

"I told you something was off about those guys," Tyler said through gritted teeth as he turned back around and downed the rest of his beer.

"You don't know that they're gonna cause any trouble, Tyler," Brooke said admonishingly. "They might all be really nice guys."

Reid snorted and turned around as well, taking the pint glass full of beer Desi had set down in front of him minutes ago up. "Yeah, sure we don't, Muppet."

Brooke sighed and rolled her eyes, grabbing her own drink and sucking the rest of it through the straw. "Whatever," she said as she stood up. "You guys can stay here and be grumpy all you want, but I'm gonna go meet the band and see if they need a photographer."

With that, Brooke swiped up her camera bag and headed over to the group of men. She could see Desi writing down their orders on the restaurant tickets she kept in her apron and took her cues from her. Desi had always been the confident one of the duo, but she also knew when to exercise caution. Her body language told Brooke there was nothing to be worried about.

"And who's this little mouse?" a coarse voice coming from a bearded biker the edge of the group said as Brooke came up beside Desi.

Brooke and Desi exchanged a glance before Brooke stepped forward and held her camera bag up, as if that were explanation in and of itself.

"I'm Brooke," she said. "The venue owner actually hired me to photograph the show tonight so we could post things on the website." She smiled and looked around the group, finally making eye contact with the member of the band she guessed was in charge; his stance and the way he perked up at the mention of photos gave him away.

"Is that so?" the man asked, pushing through the group to get closer.

Brooke nodded. "I actually wanted to come over and ask if you guys already had a photographer. I didn't know if you were local or not, but I figured I could at least photograph you when you roll through."

The man smiled, pushing his hand through his semi-long, wavy blond hair. "We actually don't have an official photographer, do we boys?"

The rest of the members of the band nodded and voiced their agreements.

"We're from Boston. This is the first time we've been up to Ipswich," he continued, making his way through the group to sidle up next to Brooke. "Depending on how tonight goes, though, we just might have to come back."

"That would be sick," Brooke said enthusiastically, looking up at Desi.

Desi smiled and held up her pad, saying, "Yeah, it'd be great. Did I get everyone's orders?"

The men all sounded affirmative at once, but not in unison. Desi simply nodded and headed back to the bar to put the orders for food in and make the drinks. She patted Brooke's shoulder gently as she left, making eye contact with her friend and giving her a 'be careful' sort of look.

"So, uh…oh, I don't think I got your name," Brooke said, looking at the man beside her.

"Emmett," he said smoothly. "I'm Emmett"

Brooke nodded and motioned to her camera. "Well, Emmett, do you mind if I get some shots of you guys setting up?"

Emmett smiled devilishly, sending a shiver down Brooke's spine that she couldn't place as good or bad, and nodded. "Sure thing, Miss Brooke," he said, his voice taking on a raspier tone than before.

Brooke grinned and let Emmett place a hand on her back and lead her towards the stage with the rest of the band as she busied herself with getting her camera out of the bag. This night was turning out to be interesting. She just hoped that it wouldn't take a turn for the worse since Tyler and Reid seemed determined to be in bad moods. This wasn't going to be like high school; she was allowed to have more friends than just the Sons of Ipswich.


End file.
